Agenda - Planning Commission - 07/11/2007

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Planned Unit Developments and Master Planned Communities: Revievv and Approval Processes By Daniel R. Mandelker, FAICP A local government must adopt a process in which it approves planned unit develop- ments and master planned communities. Th,e procedures for PUD review and approval are now fairly standardized and resemble pro- cedures for other land-use approvals, such as subdivision approvals. The critical step is the approval of the development plan, which con- tains a map and text that govern project development. The planned unit development ordinance contains approval standards the legislative body must apply when it decides whether to approve a development plan. Depending on how the ordinance is written, the development plan can supplement an underlying zoning ordinance, or it can provide an independent set of regulations for the planned unit development. Local govemments use three different procedmes for approving development plans: . A three-step procedure beginning with the submission and approval of a generalized concept or sketch plan, followed by the suc- cessive submission and approval of a detailed preliminary and final development plan. A development pla,n may be adopted for the entire project, or it may be adopted in phases for each phase. The final development plan is simply the final confirmation of what was in the preliminary plan. . A two-step procedure that omits the con- cept or sketch plan and requires only the approval of a detailed preliminary and final development plan. For phased developments, the approval of a detailed development plan for the entire project is followed by more detailed site plans for each phase. . The submission of a final development plan without the submission and approval of a pre-' liminary development plan. 118 This issue of Zoning Practice reviews each of the steps in the rezoning process for planned unit developments and recommends ordinance provisions that can enact them. The approval of a development plan requires decisions by the legislative body and the planning commission. OVERLAY DISTRiCT OR NEW BASE DISTRICT? The local government should choose between designating the planned unit development dis- trict as an overlay district that provides regula- tions supplementary to the underlying zoning district, or as a new base district that displaces the zoning in the underlying district. In either case, the municipality will approve a develop- ment plan that contains maps and text with the regulations that apply to the planned unit devel- opment. The second approach is preferable, though overlay zoning may be appropriate if only marginal changes from the underlying zon- ing regulations are contemplated. APPROVAL OF DE\/ELOPMENT PLAN AT TIME OF REZONING In some instances, the approval of a develop- ment plan for a planned unit development occurs following the adoption of a planned unit development district. A community may prefer to require the approval of a develop- ment plan at the same time it approves the planned unit development district so it will know at that time what kind of development it has allowed. REZONING WITH CONDITIONS In some jurisdictions, a rezoning for a planned unit development district is accom- panied by conditions (or stipulations) adopted by the legislative body. These con- ditions can be quite extensive. Because they are negotiated on a case-by-case basis, they are not specified in the ordinance and can cover any issue that affects the planned unit development. The relationship between the rezoning conditions and the develop- ment plan is important. The rezoning condi- tions can provide that the development plan is incorporated into the rezoning ordinance as a condition. Other rezoning conditions would then supplement the plan or at least not contradict it. Another option for the approval of a planned unit development is to authorize its approval as a special or conditional use or permit. This is one of the options provided by the American Planning Association's Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook. Approval as a special or conditional use is practicable, how- ever, only for a planned unit development on a limited scale that does not require substan- tial changes in land use and intensities. An example would be a residential cluster hous- ing planned unit development that does not require an increase in density or change in use. The board of zoning appeals, which usu- ally approves conditional uses, does not have the authority or expertise to approve large- scale developments that require major plan- ning and land-use decisions. Approval of a planned unit develop- ment as a subdivision is also possible in limited circumstances in which there is no change in use or density. The Legislative Guidebook also includes a general provision ZONINGPRACTlCE 6.07 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 2